#Resource G - A - T - E - S - >The greater one’s desires, the harder one has to work for them. #### U.G. Krishnamurti held that  all forms of goal-setting are **nonsensical and the root cause of human suffering**, as the pursuit of any goal implies that you are not content with your current state of being. He made no distinction between material and spiritual goals, considering both to be the same.  UG Krishnamurti's View on Goals - **Goals are extensions of desire**: According to U.G., all goals, even elevated "spiritual" ones, are an extension of the desire to "become something". This pursuit is inherently selfish because it seeks a more pleasurable state in the future, implying dissatisfaction with the present. - **The illusion of time and future**: The idea of a goal relies on the concept of time, that something better will happen "tomorrow". U.G. argued that this focus on the future prevents one from experiencing what is present in the "here and now". - **Thought as the instrument**: He asserted that the instrument used to achieve any goal, whether material or spiritual, is thought. Thought, being a product of the past and functioning in time, cannot lead to a state outside time, such as true liberation or the "natural state". - **Life has no inherent purpose**: U.G. stated that there is no grand purpose or goal for human life, and trying to impose one is an exercise in futility. - **Suffering stems from the desire for change**: The core of his message regarding this topic is that the desire to change, to "become something else," or to achieve a different state (e.g., happiness, enlightenment) is what creates suffering and unhappiness.  The Alternative: The "Natural State" U.G. did not offer a method or a path to follow, as that would constitute a new goal. Instead, he pointed to the idea of simply "being" or the "natural state" which is already present once the striving for goals ceases. He suggested that when a person realises that "there isn't anything I can do about it," the constant, energy-wasting pursuit of imaginary goals stops spontaneously, and life functions in its own natural way. #### Osho's perspective on goals is counterintuitive: he taught that  [There is no other goal than this.. ](https://youtu.be/Z5SEYap_hcw?si=vERqOOBCNezKtTfY) **life has no ultimate goal or purpose; life itself is the purpose**, and the pursuit of external goals (money, power, fame) stems from ego and prevents one from experiencing the present moment, which is the only reality. True spiritual growth comes from relaxing into the "now," celebrating being, and acting with totality and awareness, not from striving for future achievements. While some activities might seem goal-oriented, the real focus should be on the quality of presence in _every_moment, transforming life into a continuous celebration.  **Why Osho discouraged traditional goal-setting:** - **Future vs. Present:** Goals create a future orientation, making you miss the richness of the present moment, the only place life truly happens. - **Ego-Driven:** The desire for achievement is a projection of the ego, not a path to fulfillment. - **Creates Tension:** Striving for future goals creates tension, discontent, and neurosis, pulling you away from your natural state. - **Life is Complete:** Existence is not moving towards a destination; it's a dance, complete in itself.  **Osho's Alternative: Living with Totality** - **Life as the Goal:** The only "goal" is to live each moment with such intensity and awareness that the moment becomes a celebration. - **Be Present:** Instead of _doing_ something _for_ a future result, _be_ fully present in whatever you're doing, whether it's work, relationships, or meditation. - **Effortless Growth:** Real growth isn't a struggle; it's a natural consequence of enjoying your being, like a flower blooming effortlessly. - **Action vs. Activity:** Distinguish between meaningful, present action and compulsive "activity" (like endless scrolling) that serves as an escape.  In essence, Osho suggested dropping the idea of a final destination and instead focusing on _how_ you travel, transforming the journey of life itself into the ultimate spiritual experience. productivity #Project Spontaneous is having no goals. Enlightenment is experiencing, not an experience. When you look at the beginnings of the Type A/Type B personality categorisation, you might also find cracks. The theory was developed in the 1950s by a pair of cardiologists researching the possible causes of coronary heart disease. The researchers concluded that someone with a Type A personality is more likely to be concerned with status, work and achievement, and that stress puts them at a high risk of heart disease. Those with Type B personalities reported higher levels of life satisfaction and were more likely to be even-tempered, patient and happy.  The crucial bit, though: much of this research was funded by the tobacco industry as part of a strategy to blame anything but cigarettes for declining public health. So while the findings are interesting, and might sound legitimate, plenty of them have today been disputed by cardiologists, psychologists and researchers. Competing theories find that while anxiety can correlate with heart problems, being conscientious and diligent is actually linked to better health. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/type-b-friendship-tiktok-explained-b2824666.html If you put aside the scientific flimsiness of the categories, we can learn a lot from the traits associated with them. Dr Kibby McMahon, a clinical psychologist and CEO of [KulaMind](https://kulamind.com/), thinks that the characteristics attached to both Type As and Type Bs play a significant role in shaping friendships and relationships. McMahon describes Type As as “conscientious, obsessive-compulsive, and perfectionistic”, while Type Bs are distractible, creative and laidback – but they are often drawn to each other because opposites attract. The burden of responsibility for the organised friend, though, can put a huge strain on relationships, as Lucia experienced. If there are shared responsibilities like cleaning, paying bills or planning activities, these duties can fall on the person who fits into the Type A category. “The Type B’s tendency to miss deadlines, overlook details, procrastinate, or fail to follow through on promises can put the burden on the Type A person to compensate,” says McMahon. But in turn, the perfectionism and sometimes critical nature of a Type A can hold the Type B to unrealistic expectations. Today, the most widely accepted way to understand our personality traits is the Big Five model. Under this theory, the broad building blocks of our personalities are openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. “Type A is really about high conscientiousness, one of the Big Five personality traits,” says Veilleux. “People who are high in conscientiousness are planful, organised, and want to get things done on time.” All of us can have different levels of conscientiousness, and the same goes for the rest of the Big Five personality traits. This means that we’re all everything. # 3 MINUTE MONDAY – TYPE A PROBLEMS, VOTERS & WIVES - October 21, 2024 Hi friend, Type A Problems, Type B Problems. I think Type A people have a Type B problem, and Type B people have a Type A problem. Insecure overachievers need to learn how to chill out and relax, and lazy people need to learn how to work harder and be disciplined. Given that you subscribe to me, I’m going to guess you’re Type A. Some version of a “walking anxiety disorder harnessed for productivity” as Andrew Wilkinson says. **Here’s the thing you may have already realised; Type A people with a Type B problem get very little sympathy.** **Because a miserable-but-outwardly-successful person always appears to be in a much more preferential position than a content-being-lazy-but-on-the-verge-of-bankruptcy one.** Problems of opportunity will always get less sympathy than ones of scarcity. One feels like a choice, the other like a limitation. One is a bourgeois luxury, the other a systemic imposition. “I need someone to teach me how to be disciplined and work harder” feels noble, upward aiming and charitable. “I need someone to teach me how to switch off and relax” feels dopaminergic, addicted, transactional and opulent. Every underdog movie ever has a training montage of someone sorting their life out by working harder. None included a guy learning how to log out of Slack at 6pm or finally enjoy a beach holiday. **So yes, Type A people may objectively have “better” lives, but subjectively they’re ravaged by the sense that they’ve never done enough.** They wake up every morning feeling as if they’re already fallen behind, and only if they dominate their entire day flawlessly will they have dragged themselves back up to some minimum level of acceptable output which means they can go to sleep that night without feeling like a wasteman. Congratulations – you might be very successful, but you also might be very miserable. “Just work harder bro”-advice reliably makes everyone more successful in the only way that they can be judged – outwardly. There are very few issues in life which can’t be solved by just working harder, so everyone treats it as a panacea, not a purpose-built tool. And on average, maybe more people DO need to hear David Goggins shouting in their face to go harder than Eckhart Tolle whispering in their ear that they are already enough. But for a certain, perhaps minority cohort of people, they actually need to hear the opposite message. **We need a parasympathetic Goggins.** Who’s going to carry the TV remote? And the Cheetos? Type B problems are just as tough as Type A ones, but they require a much less sexy solution – peace. One you actually can’t achieve by working harder. ### ​Tasks ```tasks path includes {{query.file.path}} not done ``` ## **MODERN WISDOM** I do a podcast where I pretend to have a British accent. You should subscribe on [Apple Podcasts](https://click.convertkit-mail.com/zluerze6owunh4z3vmxbzuw09qg00c6/6qh472lms8h78qz7wlfo/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcHBsZS5jby8yTU5xSWd3) or [Spotify](https://click.convertkit-mail.com/zluerze6owunh4z3vmxbzuw09qg00c6/g3h452z5c5h38vr3n6ur/aHR0cHM6Ly9zcG90aS5maS8yTFNpbVBu). ​ **This week’s upcoming episodes:** Monday. Graham Hancock – host of Netflix’s hit show Ancient Apocalypse joins me to talk about human civilisation’s history, how The Americas actually got settled, whether we’ll record in Egypt and much more. So fun. Thursday. Richard Reeves – president of the American Institute for Boys & Men on modern male mental health, why advocating for the problems of boys and men is so unpopular and whether I need to temper my language to avoid being labelled as part of the manosphere. Saturday. Krystal Ball – co-host of Breaking Points on the election cycle from The Left’s perspective. Why is modern politics so divisive? Why can no one trust the media any more? And does this pantomime campaign actually matter? ​ ## **THINGS I’VE LEARNED** 1. ​**This entire election campaign is aimed at less than 4 million Crucial Voters.** If you take the US population, then limit that to only registered voters, then limit that to only those who live in swing states that matter, then limit that to only those who are undecided and then finally account for the % voter turnout… 1. Total Registered Voters: There are approximately 186.5 million registered voters in the U.S. for the 2024 election. 2. Voters in Swing States: The total number of registered voters in key swing states (like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, etc.) is around 39 million, or about 21% of all registered voters . 3. Undecided Voters in Swing States: Roughly 14% of voters are undecided or swing voters. Applying this percentage to the 39 million registered voters in swing states gives us 5.46 million undecided voters. 4. Voter Turnout Estimate: Historically, around 66% of registered voters turn out to vote in U.S. presidential elections. Using this rate, that means 3.6 million of the undecided voters in swing states are likely to vote in 2024. **Only 3.6 million undecided swing state voters will likely vote in the 2024 election based on historical turnout rates.** The 2024 election campaign projected total spending by both parties is expected to exceed $15.9 billion, which would set a new record for campaign expenditure. That means you could directly give every Crucial Voter about $4,416 each. ​ 2. ​**The Tall Girl Problem rears its head again.** “In many countries, there is evidence that when the woman is the primary or sole breadwinner, the couple is more likely to break up but some evidence suggests that this effect is reducing. The argument has been made that this represents a weakening of the “male breadwinner norm”. A study examined French couples from 2011 until 2017, a sample total of 992,217 couples. The researchers examined the woman’s share of the couple’s total income and how this affected the couple’s chance of dissolution in the following year. In about half of the couples, the man was the primary earner, the man and woman were equal earners in about 20%, and the woman was the primary breadwinner (contributed between 55% and 95% of the couple’s total income) in 14% of the couples. The results? When the woman earned 55% or more of the couple’s total income, the partnership was more likely to dissolve the following year. This was true irrespective of the man’s employment situation. The greater likelihood of union dissolution was found across three different types of unions—marriages, civil partnerships, and cohabitation. However, overall cohabitating partnerships were the most likely to dissolve. Regardless of increases in women’s employment and gender egalitarianism in recent years in France, when the woman earns more than the man, the couple is more likely to split up, and the risk of breakup increases the more money she earns.” — Institute For Family Studies ​ 3. ​**They don’t make ‘em like they used to.** “The ease with which dramatic behavior gets attention online has convinced many political activists that a better world doesn’t require years of patient work, only a sufficient quantity of drama.” — @G_S_Bhogal ​ ## **LIFE HACK** **Momentous Sleep Packs.** What I take every night before I go to bed. If you’ve been struggling with getting to sleep, staying asleep or haven’t been waking up rested in the morning, this is a great solution. Olympic-athlete-quality sourcing. Evidence-based ingredients designed with the help of Dr Andrew Huberman. 30 day money-back guarantee in case you don’t like it. International shipping. ​[Try Momentous Sleep Packs risk-free.](https://click.convertkit-mail.com/zluerze6owunh4z3vmxbzuw09qg00c6/58hvh7hmdeqm07s6/aHR0cHM6Ly9saXZlbW9tZW50b3VzLmNvbS9tb2Rlcm53aXNkb20=)​ ​ Big love, Chris x Try my productivity drink [Neutonic](https://click.convertkit-mail.com/zluerze6owunh4z3vmxbzuw09qg00c6/25h2hoh2p562gni3/aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXV0b25pYy5jb20vbW9kZXJud2lzZG9t). Share this article with your friends [here](https://click.convertkit-mail.com/zluerze6owunh4z3vmxbzuw09qg00c6/g3hnh5h38vr3nrcr/aHR0cHM6Ly91bmlxd WUtdGhpbmtlci03MzE4LmNrLnBhZ2UvcHJvZmlsZQ==). PS Recording with Matthew McConaughey this week.